The Perception of Spiritual Truth
Greetings and good morning brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series
where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years,
the heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them
with you. This morning we seek to understand the perception of spiritual truth.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Perception of Spiritual Truth
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man come unto the Father, but
by me." John, Chapter 14, Verse 6.
Good morning brothers and sisters, self consciousness allows us to perceive material reality. Self
consciousness allows us to be aware that we are perceiving this reality and even allows us to change
or modify it. Each moment of our lives we are experiencing reality. Some of this reality is created
for us by others: they create situations that we have to respond to, and by responding to it we
experience a new reality. Other times we create reality by the free will choices that we make. But
even so the perception of material reality is subject to internal interpretation. Thus in any exchange
of perception of what was perceived, it is likely that the perception will be similar but not in all
respects.
When we identify a purely material object, say for example a table, we all agree with the gross
aspects of that object, but the finer details of the perception of that object will vary according to the
keenness of the observation. When it comes to material relationships, how one thing interacts with
another, than does subjective interpretation enter into the equation, and interpretation not only deals
with the factual but also is colored by feelings, biases, and other purely personal aspects that go into
the final interpretation of what is perceived.
When it comes to dealing with personal relationships, we enter into a whole new arena of perception
all together. First humans are of two different varieties, male and female. They are very similar but
also very different. Their viewpoints and interpretations of life phenomena are totally different.
These relationships are definitely colored by subjective considerations. And it is difficult to gain
accuracy of precisely what the relationship is. This is further complicated by the fact that the
relationships are constantly changing. And as these changes occur so do the interpretations of the
relationships. In fact there is a direct relationship between the change in a relationship and the
perception of that relationship. And even though there are some core connections in a relationship
such as wife and husband, parent and child, employer and employee that are defined by functions,
the interpretations of these functions also vary. And it is the consideration of the basic functions of
relationships that we shall review to understand the perception of spiritual truth.
We have defined spiritual truth as divine reality. And though we may continue to relate to each other,
it does not necessarily mean that we are relating to each other in a perfectly truthful way. We may
not be aware of this because of the largely selfish interest in relationships. We define relationships
in terms of expectations, desires, and wish fulfillment. Our perception of relationship is largely based
upon selfish consideration. But these types of relationships do not define true reality as promulgated
by the heavenly Father. Much disharmony that we experience in relationships is in no small measure
due to this selfish definition of relationships, even though some of it is due to the changing nature
of relationships.
How do we detect this reality ordained by the heavenly Father that we call truth, and reflect this
reality back into our present relationships? We think that there are three factors that go into the
perception of divine truth. First there must be a recognition that there exists another level of reality
other than the one that we are pursuing. And this first step is available to all moral human beings
who are inherently able to discern truth from error. This God-given ability allows us to recognize
when we have made an error, and it is predicated upon experience and the meaningful realization
that what was expected to occur did not occur. We have an ideal in our minds of how a given act
should play itself out, even when we are preceding in error. These ideals are the forecasts of the
divine spirit that lives in our minds. And it is this comparison of the ideal alongside the mortal actual
reality that not only highlights the error, but also lead us to higher and higher striving to actualize
these ideals. And of course the immediate effect of this process is to bring our human relationships
more in line with divine relationships.
But even when these ideals of the perfect relationship are visualized, the truth of their existence does
not automatically translate into human reality. We are free will creatures and have to choose divine
ideals, which brings us to our second factor in perceiving truth. There must be a desire, a willingness
to perceive truth. If not, the ideals of the divine spirit remain inactive as stimuli for up-stepping
relationships. Desire and will in conjunction with faith allows for ideals to be translated from
potential reality to actual reality. When desire and will are infused with faith, then do divine ideals
become real--that is, they becomes tinged with the sense or feeling of reality. And then finally there
must be courage and willingness to embrace this truth once it becomes a bonafide reality to our
consciousness. In order words once we become convicted that a given course of conduct or behavior
is right, we must fearlessly and ruthless pursue it. And this is the pursuit of truth.
Assuming that all of these factors are present, the self is now ready to perceive divine reality, which
is divine truth. Let us examine this from the personal relationship aspect. We are instructed that
divine truth is the greatest pronouncement of the relationships that the Heavenly Father enjoys with
his children. In other words, when an observer sees the love that the Father has for his children, that
observer calls this relationship truth. We see, then, that truth is related to love. In order to perceive
divine truth, we must recognize the overpowering element of divine love. It is not just a
philosophical construct but is an absolute reality that showers and completely immerses His children.
In the life of Jesus we see an example of this observation of divine love--truth. In human form God
is demonstrating the truth of his love for his children. Jesus actually lived the human life, showing
how divine truth functions. Jesus' life was unselfish; he related to individuals positively and in such
a way that it was beneficial to the individual. He went about doing good. He turned his back on the
selfish regard of relationships to champion the divine relationship. He recognized the superiority of
divine relationships over selfish relationships and by the force of his example compelled his human
brothers and sisters to do the same.
The last part of this process is to grasp this view of Jesus walking with us through our daily lives.
One might claim that the spirit isn't visible but it is. We can turn our backs on selfish regard for
others, and pursue this divine ideal of treating our brothers and sisters the way that Jesus treats us
and the way that we so earnestly would like to be treated. With this approach much is possible; with
the selfish approach, no perception of truth is possible because truth is reactive to the observation
of divine love. It is always pointed away from the self. However, the selfish approach is always
pointed inward in its assessments.
This concludes today's message on understanding the perception of spiritual truth. We hope you find
something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day.
Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
The Perception of Spiritual Truth
